With so many majors to choose from, some may wonder, “Why choose accounting?” Accounting isn’t particularly glamorous, nor has it been portrayed in the most interesting light by the media. But accounting is a reliable major. Yes, the economy isn’t at its most prosperous level, but that doesn’t meant that you should discount accounting.

A career in accounting is respectable and it helps to prepare you adequately for the business world if you were to later choose to become an entrepreneur. As an accounting major you’ll be trained to hone your organizational and interpretive skills and will be better at rationalizing financial decisions for a company.

As an accountant, the financial data that you provide will be used by the leaders of your company to determine what steps they should make next. Your accounting skills are vital to insuring that a company manages to stay afloat and profitable.

In the classroom, you’ll be taking courses in business mathematics, accounting systems, accounting information systems, auditing, cost accounting, economics, finance, and marketing. Those are just some of the classes you’ll be taking as an accounting major. You will also have to fulfill your general education requirements and any other classes required by your school for graduation.

If you’re interested in majoring in accounting, be prepared for the course load. Accounting is not the kind of major that you can just skate along in. Accounting firms typically hire the best and the brightest and with the state of the economy, you have to shine amongst the many other candidates out there.

When deciding between schools that offer accounting as a major, find out if the courses focus more on theories (conceptual-based) or application (analysis based). If you’re interested more in accounting theory, apply to schools that focus on that. If you’re more interested on how those principles are applied, look for schools that fulfill that criteria.

If you’re interested in becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), check to see if the school(s) you are interested in offer a 5 year program that gives you both your bachelor’s and master’s degree. If your school offers a dual program, you’ll be able to practice as a CPA straight out of college!

"When I graduate from college I'm gonna be R-I-C-H! Expensive cars, homes... you name it, it'll be MINE!" Who hasn't thought or said something similar? In college, everyone says they're going to be rich, but very few know...